


Don't Get Too Close

by perrieblossom



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Guys please don't read it if you trigger easily, M/M, Minor Violence, Nouis fluff, Relapses, Self-Harm, Thoughts of Suicide, depressed!louis, just saying, okay so zayn harry liam and perrie are all mentioned, supportive!boyfriend Niall, this is actual crap, triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 19:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1136496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perrieblossom/pseuds/perrieblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall knew something was wrong the minute he stepped inside the door.</p><p>or</p><p>The one where Louis relapses and Niall’s there to make it better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Get Too Close

**Author's Note:**

> If you could put shit into words, it would be this one shot. It's actually really really bad but it's on Tumblr so I figured I'd finally put it on here. Once again, there's self-harm in this, so please read it with caution! (Title's from "Demons" by Imagine Dragons)

Niall knew something was wrong the minute he stepped inside the door.

Usually, whenever he went out to the pub or somewhere along those lines with Zayn or Liam or Harry, Louis was always waiting for him. Curled up on the couch, mug of tea in hand, watching some chick flick a year-plus old. (The last time he’d come home was in the middle of _27 Dresses_ , right when Jane slaps Tess and calls her a bitch.)

But today? There was silence. And Niall didn’t like it.

"Louis?" Niall called out, hooking his keys onto the rack next to the door and kicking his shoes off into the corner. "Babe, where are you?"

No answer. Niall knew he was probably overreacting-Louis turned in early some nights, it happens-but he couldn’t shake an overwhelming sense of dread. He poked into his head into the kitchen, where everything was in place spare their kettle resting on the unlit stove top. Making his way over to it, Niall felt that it was cool, and still extremely full.

 _God damn it Louis, where are you?_ Niall thought, raking his hand effortlessly through his blond hair and letting out a sigh of frustration. After a few moments, though, the dread crept back up on him, and with one final huff, Niall left the kitchen in search of his boyfriend.

Eventually, after looking through every single room in the lower level of their home, Niall came to the conclusion that the Doncaster boy was hidden away somewhere upstairs. Letting out a small groan, Niall trudged his way up their carpeted staircase, getting more frustrated by the minute.

 _All I wanted to do was come home and cuddle with my boyfriend and watch some stupid movie he insists is actually entertaining, is that too much to ask for?_ He thought spitefully as he finally came up the last step.

It hit him like a brick wall, the stench. Niall couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it was metallic and familiar. The dread in the Irish boy’s gut grew.

Slowly but surely, Niall made his way toward the only bathroom on the upper level: their master bedroom’s on-suite. The smell’s intensity grew the closer he got, and like a slap across the face, Niall knew exactly what it was.

 _Shit. Crap. Shit. Crap. Fucking fuck. Oh god, please no._ Niall swore in his head again and again as he picked up his pace, practically sprinting to the room. Louis hadn’t had a relapse in nearly three months, and Niall hadn’t been on Twitter recently, but something must have triggered his boyfriend into thinking that slaughtering his arm was the only thing to do.

Thankfully, Louis most likely hadn’t counted on Niall being home early as the door was unlocked.

The damage in front of him wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d expected (Louis in a puddle of his own blood, the life being sucked out of him) but it wasn’t pretty either (there was still blood everywhere).

"N-Niall," Louis looked up at the blond boy from his spot where he was kneeling on the floor, his lip trembling and tears welled in the corners of his eyes. Without a word, Niall sank to his knees in front of the broken mess that was Louis Tomlinson and looked him in the eyes.

"Tell me what happened, Lou," he managed to get out in a calm, steady voice. Louis’s bottom lip trembled once more, and before Niall knew what hit him, Louis was launching himself at his boyfriend, his bloody arms wrapping around Niall’s neck. From pure instinct, Niall’s arms held onto Lou’s waist, as if his embrace could protect the shattered boy from the cold world.

"S-So many people were hating on Eleanor, and sh-she finally had it and sh-she lashed out on m-me," Louis sobbed into Niall’s neck. "I d-don’t mean for her t-to get hate, but sh-she called me a fag and a f-fatty and she apologized a-after, but it st-still hurt. And then I w-went on Twitter and a l-lot of people were m-messaging me the s-same thing and, why am I so worthless Niall?”

Niall had to fight back a few tears of his own, one hand subconsciously rubbing Louis’s back while the other was gently placed on the back of his neck, much like how a mother would hold her crying child.

"Louis William Tomlinson," Niall finally let out shakily, "I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to tell you this until you believe me, but you’re beautiful and perfect and everything I could possibly want as a boyfriend. Fuck management making you fake date Eleanor, what she said was wrong, and she had no business saying it. I love you just the way you are, and I don’t want nor do I need you changing. The second I tell you to change something about yourself, I want you kicking me out of this house, all right? Because you’re too perfect to be told differently." Louis somehow managed to let out a weak chuckle.

"I could never kick you out, I love you too much."

"I love you too, boo." Niall pulled out of the hug just enough to look into Louis’s red-rimmed, uniquely blue eyes. "I can’t stand to see you upset or hating on yourself. Anytime you feel like you need to cut, I need you to promise me you’ll come talk to me, ok? It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’ll get to you as fast as I can and I’ll make it better, ok?" Louis nodded, and that was all Niall needed to see before he kissed Louis tenderly on the lips.

If he was being completely honest, about 85% of the kisses the pair shared were rough and passionate. So, despite the occasion, Niall couldn’t help but get lost in Louis’s soft lips, silently delivering promises of help every step of the way. No matter what it was going to take, he was going to help his boo get better, Louis didn’t deserve anything less.

Eventually, though, they pulled away when Niall realized he’d better get Louis’s bleeding to stop before they had to go to the hospital. (He’d been there and done that, and frankly, he wasn’t planning on ever having to go through that stress again.)

"Come on love, up you go," Niall chided gently as he helped Louis hop up onto the granite countertop. He couldn’t help but slightly wince at all the scars that covered the inside of Louis’s left arm as he took an old washcloth and began removing the traces of fresh blood.

"So beautiful," Niall murmured as he cleaned Louis up, "so, so beautiful." Louis’s cheeks and ears went red at his boyfriend’s mumbling, even though he was picking at his shirt’s hem absentmindedly and clearly not believing a single word.

"It’ll be ok, love," Niall said as he finally managed to get the bleeding to stop. "We’ll fix you."

Louis looked down at him, his eyes shining as if he were going to burst out crying again. “Promise?”

Niall smiled gently. “Promise.” From there, he took Louis’s scar-covered arm and kissed every last pink line, always going back if he managed to skip one or two. Glancing up at Louis through his eyelashes, the Doncaster boy was blushing even more so than before, but he looked truly touched.

He quickly bandaged the fresh cuts from there, making sure to put Neosporin on them so they wouldn’t get infected (because really, that was the last thing they needed). “How about we cuddle in bed and watch a movie,” Niall suggested, running his fingers through Louis’s wisps of hair. “Whatever you want, boo.”

"Did we get our copy of _Bridesmaids_ back from Zayn and Perrie yet?" Louis asked. "I could use a laugh." Niall nodded.

"Got it back tonight when I went over. Go get into bed, Lou, I’ll be there in a second."

He winded up guiding Louis into bed anyway, but when he finally laid down behind him, wrapping his arms around Louis’s waist as the opening credits began, Niall knew he wouldn’t have it any other way, helping his boyfriend through his times of trouble.


End file.
